FIFA to test goal-line tech by July 2012

Football's lawmakers will re-evaluate controversial goal-line technology in July 2012 after a fresh battery of tests on equipment, FIFA said on Tuesday.

Written by Agence-France Presse

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Zurich:

Football's lawmakers will re-evaluate controversial goal-line technology in July 2012 after a fresh battery of tests on equipment, FIFA said on Tuesday.

World football's governing body invited equipment makers to take part in a two-stage technical testing process between September 2011 and March 2012, which will be verified by an independent technical institute.

"The final results of this evaluation will be presented to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at a special meeting in July 2012," FIFA said in a statement.

"The tests will be conducted in two phases at a football stadium selected by the respective technology providers, in consultation with FIFA."

FIFA has softened its stance on the use of goal-line technology to help referees since last year's World Cup, when a goal scored by England midfielder Frank Lampard against Germany was wrongly disallowed.

About 10 different goal-line technology systems have been tested but so far none has been up to the necessary standard, according to the IFAB.

The first battery of tests in daylight and floodlit conditions between September and December 2011 will check the required goal scoring indicator to a bracelet worn by the referee, the range of the signal and demand 90 to 100 percent accuracy on different types of shots.

The standards will be raised on a second set of tests on shortlisted equipment from March to June 2012 under simulated match conditions, different surfaces and weather conditions.

The IFAB - made up of FIFA and the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - decided in March to look at technological aids again.